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Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P.

Kerth to Speak at "Landlord Tenant Law: Beyond the Basics"
Jones Walker attorney David Kerth, a partner in the firm’s Business & Commercial Litigation Practice Group, has been invited to speak at a Baton Rouge area seminar sponsored by Sterling Education Services Inc. The seminar is entitled "Landlord Tenant Law: Beyond the Basics," and will be held at the Baton Rouge Marriott on September 25, 2007. Mr. Kerth will be presenting "The Effect of the Bankruptcy Reform Act on Landlords and Tenants When the Tenant Files Bankruptcy" and "Ethics in Landlord-Tenant Law."

09-07-2007

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Jenner & Block LLP

Firm Achieves Ruling in Favor of Telecommunications Client Neutral Tandem
Jenner & Block Partners John R. Harrington and Matt D. Basil recently secured a ruling in favor of client Neutral Tandem in an interconnection dispute with a telecommunications carrier before the Illinois Commerce Commission. The Commission found that the client’s opponent had violated several sections of the Illinois Public Utilities Act and ordered the opponent to pay eighty percent of Neutral Tandem’s attorney fees.

Neutral Tandem provides wireless, wireline, and other competitive carriers with an independent tandem network for exchanging telecommunications traffic, eliminating competitive carriers’ need to rely on the incumbent transit provider to complete calls. The company had exchanged traffic with the opponent, a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) with end user customers, since 2004.

In January 2007, the CLEC carrier terminated the agreement by which third parties can transit traffic to it via Neutral Tandem’s network. Following the termination of this contract, the Firm filed a regulatory proceeding on behalf of Neutral Tandem in Illinois asserting that Neutral Tandem has the legal right to remain directly connected to the CLEC carrier in order to terminate transit traffic to the opponent on behalf of their third party carrier customers.

The Illinois Commission determined that the CLEC carrier violated Illinois law and ordered that the direct interconnection between Neutral Tandem and its opponent remain intact. The Commission also found, contrary to the assertions of the opponent, that Neutral Tandem was not required to pay any fee or compensation for traffic delivered to the opponent carrier for termination on its network.

“By disconnecting Neutral Tandem and forcing it to route traffic bound for [the CLEC carrier] via AT&T, [the CLEC carrier] would simultaneously impose a substantial adverse effect on Neutral Tandem’s ability to serve its customers, and foreclose from competing competitive local exchange carriers the very arrangement [the CLEC carrier] uses for itself,” said the Commission.

The Commission stated, “This scenario will degrade the ability of Neutral Tandem to do business, and will impede the development of competition in Illinois.”

The ruling comes at the heels of two other decisions in favor of Neutral Tandem in New York and Georgia, which the Firm helped secure.

In addition to Messrs. Harrington and Basil, Jenner & Block Associate Christopher V. Parente represented Neutral Tandem before the Illinois Commission. The Jenner & Block team representing Neutral Tandem in similar proceedings around the country includes associates Erin R. Schrantz, Melissa L. Dickey, Adam A. Hachikian and Joseph A. Schouten.

09-07-2007

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Howrey, LLP

Howrey LLP Wins EC Clearance for SCA Acquisition of Procter & Gamble European Consumer Tissue Operations
The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Procter & Gamble’s entire European tissue operations by SCA, represented by Howrey LLP. The approval is conditional on the divestment by SCA of its “Softis” hanky/facials brand in Austria and Germany.

The deal was announced in March 2007 and will give SCA access to a number of established high quality toilet paper, household towels (“HHT”) and hanky/facials brands in Western Europe. SCA is active in the supply of consumer tissue products under the Edet, Velvet and Zewa brands, but also under retailer brands. Procter & Gamble's European tissue business (P&G ECT) is active primarily under the Tempo, Bounty, and Charmin brands in addition to the supply of retailer brands.

SCA was represented in this matter by Tom McQuail of Howrey’s London office. McQuail Owrey joined Howrey’s European antitrust team in June 2007 and together with colleagues is establishing the firm’s competition practice in Howrey’s London office. Tom’s merger control experience complements Howrey’s growing merger control practice led by Götz Drauz, former Deputy Director-General in DG Comp with particular responsibility for mergers. In addition to SCA/P&G, the most recent matters handled by the team include representation of Nestlé S.A. in its acquisition of the Gerber baby food business from Novartis AG and Schering-Plough in its €11 billion acquisition of Akzo Nobel’s pharmaceuticals unit.

09-07-2007

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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP

Gibson Dunn Adds M&A Partner With Technology Focus in Los Angeles
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that David M. Hernand has joined its Century City office as a partner. Formerly a partner with Latham & Watkins, Hernand practices corporate law, with a focus on public and private mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry.

"David will be a terrific addition to the firm," said Ken Doran, Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. "He is highly regarded by the technology community and is one of the key 'go-to' M&A lawyers for the sector."

"We are delighted to welcome David to the firm," said Peter Ziegler, Co-Partner in Charge of the Los Angeles office. "With his reputation and experience in M&A and technology, David will be a great fit with our corporate practice, particularly our public company, private equity and entertainment transactional work."

"I look forward to working with my new colleagues," said Hernand. "Gibson Dunn has an impressive corporate platform that also offers me an opportunity to grow my practice."

About David M. Hernand

Hernand focuses his corporate practice on public and private M&A, corporate securities and general company representation, with a particular emphasis on technology companies. He also has significant experience in representing investment banks and private equity and venture capital firms, as well as companies and institutional investors.

In the technology sector, Hernand has represented many maturing technology companies in significant strategic transactions, including many of the most significant technology company M&A transactions in Southern California in recent years. Other industry experience includes consumer products, energy, health care and hospitality.

Prior to joining the firm, Hernand had practiced with Latham & Watkins since 1994, with a two-year hiatus as managing director at Idealab, a Pasadena-Calif.-based technology company incubator and later as CEO of New.net, an Idealab portfolio company. Hernand received his law degree, cum laude, in 1992 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an editor for the Georgetown Law Journal.

About Gibson Dunn's M&A Practice

Gibson Dunn has one of the leading mergers and acquisitions practices in the country. With expertise in corporate, securities, tax, antitrust, executive compensation and labor, intellectual property, and environmental law, the firm's lawyers routinely advise on complex corporate transactions.

Gibson Dunn has extensive experience in all types of M&A transactions, including mergers of public and private companies, stock and asset purchases, tender and exchange offers, restructurings and acquisitions out of bankruptcy, divestitures and spin-offs, leveraged buyouts and private equity investments, strategic investments and joint ventures, special committee representations, cross-border M&A transactions.

According to statistics maintained by industry scorekeepers such as Thomson Financial and MergerMarket, Gibson Dunn has consistently placed among the top law firms in terms of number of M&A transactions in recent years. The firm's M&A client list includes many of the world's preeminent corporations, including Boeing, Cadence Design Systems, Computer Sciences, CRH, Del Monte, Fiber Mark, Focus Digital A.G., GE Medical, Intel, Marriott International, Nortel Networks, Northrop Grumman, PeopleSoft, Schlumberger, Siemens A.G., and Tyco. Gibson Dunn also represents many of the most prominent investment banks as financial advisors in M&A transactions. The firm acts as counsel to several well-known private equity investors, including Arcapita, Care Capital Investments, The Gores Group LLC, Investcorp, Leonard Green & Partners, Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Quadrangle, Rhone Group, Silver Lake Partners, Southern Cross and Whitney & Co. LLC.

09-07-2007

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Davis Polk & Wardwell

Davis Polk Advises Cosan Limited on Its $1.2 Billion NYSE IPO
Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Cosan Limited on its $1.2 billion SEC-registered initial public offering of 111,678,000 shares of Class A common stock, including 13,064,914 shares in the form of Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs). Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated were the underwriters. The Class A common shares are listed on the NYSE and the BDRs are listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange.

Cosan Limited is the holding company of Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio, the largest grower and processor of sugarcane in the world, largest ethanol and sugar producer in Brazil, second-largest ethanol producer in the world and one of the three largest sugar producers in the world.

The Davis Polk corporate team included partner Manuel Garciadiaz, associates Mariana Boranga, Fabio Lowenthal, Joana G. Benjamin and David L. Portilla, and legal assistants Elizabeth Rollings and Deborah Das. Partner Kathleen L. Ferrell and associate Catherine Paskoff Chang provided tax advice. Partner Gail A. Flesher and associate Marie-Christine Eldridge provided environmental law advice. Associate Rachel J. Strum provided '40 act advice. All Davis Polk lawyers and legal assistants are from the New York office.

09-07-2007

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Davis Polk & Wardwell

Gateway to Sell Professional Division to MPC Corporation
Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising Gateway, Inc. on the sale of its Professional Division to MPC Corporation. Gateway, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a leading provider of personal computers, PC-related products and services and consumer electronics products.

According to the terms of the acquisition agreement, MPC will assume responsibility for all operations and warranty support associated with Gateway’s Professional business, with Gateway receiving a promissory note from and an equity stake in MPC in return. The transaction is expected to be completed early in the fourth quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances.

The Davis Polk corporate team includes partners Bruce K. Dallas and Mischa Travers and associate Stephen Salmon of the Menlo Park office. The Davis Polk credit team includes partner Jinsoo H. Kim and associate Gavin R. Skene (not yet admitted) of the New York office. Partner Arthur J. Burke of the Menlo Park office and associate Stephen M. Pepper of the New York office are providing antitrust advice. Partner Rachel D. Kleinberg of the Menlo Park office and associate Gregory T. Hannibal of the New York office are providing tax advice. Counsel Cynthia Akard of the Menlo Park office is providing employment advice.

09-07-2007

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Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Fulbright Partner Elected to American College of Bankruptcy
Fulbright partner Berry Spears was recently elected as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

AustinThe College is an honorary association of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals who have demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and service to the community and the practice. There are presently 663 Fellows in the College, each selected by the Board of Regents from recommendations made by the Circuit Admissions Council in each Federal Judicial Circuit.

As immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of the College, Evelyn Biery now serves as a Director of the College. John Barrett previously served as Chair of the Board of Regents of the College, and Zack Clement serves as the Regent for the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

09-07-2007

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